Category / Childhood Friends

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Where There’s Smoke by M. J. Fredrick

Format: E-book
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Series: Standalone
Hero: Seth Escamilla
Heroine: Lauren Stokes
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 11, 2008
Started On: August 4, 2011
Finished On: August 5, 2011

Where There’s Smoke is MJ Fredrick’s first published title and is of the friends-to-lovers trope that I adore. Combining together the complications that arise when two people who have always been friends find themselves in unchartered territory together with the added complications of two families who have been friends and much more through the years finds betrayal of the worst kind lurking right amongst them, Where There’s Smoke is a contemporary romance that delivers a lot of emotional angst which I absolutely reveled in.

26 year old Lauren Stokes is an only child whose parents have never been overly demonstrative with each other or with their daughter. Lauren had always got her fix of coddling from her best friend Seth Escamilla’s mother with the two families going a long way back with both their fathers being best friends and working at the same fire house.

Seth who is a fireman himself works under Lauren’s father and has always followed his own father’s footsteps all his life. The one secret that he knows about his father puts a severe strain on their relationship and it definitely does a number on his confidence about his ability to remain faithful to one woman for a long period of time.

When Seth starts noticing the little details about his best friend Lauren like how wonderful her hair smells and how much of a bliss it would be to have her long legs wrapped around him in a lover’s embrace, Seth knows that he should keep his distance and forget that he ever thinks of getting hot and heavy with the last person in the world he would want to hurt.

Lauren doesn’t know exactly when her feelings for Seth started to change but she has been living with the fact that a drop-dead gorgeous specimen of a man like Seth would never settle for a woman like her and has resigned herself to being his friend for the rest of her life until Seth’s  changing feelings towards her puts things in a whole new perspective.

Suddenly, it is all Lauren and Seth can do to keep their hands off each other and when they stop trying to resist the pull that is between them, boy do the sparks fly then. Seth brings such a wicked quality to the sensual journey that they both take together and there were times when I wanted to call up the fire department because of the high level of steam these two generate in the bedroom. And that dancing scene at the wedding reception; I swear my insides were still sizzling even two hours afterwards!

But of course, things hardly remain the same when sex enters the equation of a life-long friendship and it is these changes that are hard for Seth to take in as he starts to doubt his ability to be good enough for someone like Lauren. The easy camaraderie that has always existed between them starts to wan as Seth pulls away from their relationship, wanting to spare Lauren the hurt of his betrayal when he ends up doing just the opposite.

Filled with family drama that tends to put more strain on their “relationship”, it is a tough road that both Lauren and Seth takes towards their happily ever after, especially for Seth who does a lot of soul searching to finally accept who he is in reality.

Where There’s Smoke is a novel that brings home the fact that no matter how old you might be, the skirmishes between your parents can always inevitably hurt you, no matter how much they might try to spare you the pain. It also brings to light just how painful a betrayal it would be to find out that the person who has shared your life for so long is not the person you really thought they were and it just hurt a place deep inside of me to read about it.

Where There’s Smoke is not just simply a romance novel that tells of how one day Seth and Lauren finds themselves undeniably in lust with one another and things proceed from lust to love in zero seconds flat. Rather than that, MJ Fredrick puts forth the complexities involved in the change of dynamics from a life-long friendship to something much more and how eventually these two work things out.

The only reason that this one doesn’t get a five-star rating is because I would have definitely loved a bit more grovelling on Seth’s part before Lauren had given in to his declaration of love in the end. And would have dearly loved an epilogue to show how life fares for those left behind in the wake of all the drama that unfolded in the story which would have made this a more satisfying read all around.

Favorite Quotes

Lauren opened the door. No high-heeled boots today. She looked fresh out of bed, rumpled, messy in a sweatshirt and plaid flannel pants, fluffy slippers. His Lauren.
And instead of being relieved, he stepped inside, cupped her face in both his hands, and kissed her.
Oh, man. She was minty and soft, and her lips parted in surprise under his. He had enough wits to give her a couple of seconds before he tilted her head and took the kiss deeper. She made a sound that might have been protest, and he started to pull back, but then she wound her arms around his neck and brushed her tongue over his lower lip. He accepted the invitation.

Her voice had dropped, soft and low, and curled through his blood, which traveled south in response. He took a step closer, trailing his fingers up the collar of the jacket to her throat. Her lips parted in surprise, in unquestioning invitation, his own tingled in anticipation.

He opened his eyes to see her rise over him, drag her teeth over her bottom lip. He’d never seen anything so sexy. He gripped her hips and lifted his own, thrusting into her body once, twice, three times before shattering, completely losing himself, his mind and soul fragmenting, his body melting into the mattress.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

awesomeread

by mvbookreviewer

I-Review: Satisfaction Guaranteed by Tori Scott

Format: E-booksatisfactionguaranteed1
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Series: Satisfaction, Book 1
Hero: Grayson Montgomery
Heroine: Caramia Kensington
Sensuality: 3
Published On: July 13, 2011
Started On: July 31, 2011
Finished On: July 31, 2011

Visitor: What made you pick up Satisfaction Guaranteed by Tori Scott?

MBR: It was quite by chance that I stumbled upon Satisfaction Guaranteed by Tori Scott. I follow author MJ Fredrick on Twitter and it was she who tweeted about this novella which caught my eye, and seeing that it was for just 0.99 $, of course me being me, I just had to buy it.

Visitor: Tell us a little bit about the hero Grayson Montgomery.

MBR: Successful in his own right, Grayson has just turned 30 years old and is biding his time until the woman he loves turns 30 so that he can take her up on the promise that she made to him 15 years ago, before she left town and broke his heart.

Visitor: Now tell us a little bit about the heroine Caramia Kensington.

MBR: Caramia is the owner of Satisfaction Guaranteed and is going to turn 30 years old when the clock strikes the midnight hour. She is ambitious and always had been and had turnd her back on what Grayson had offered when they were fifteen years old because her ambitions didn’t feature her married, pregnant and barefoot before her teens were through.

Visitor: How does Caramia and Grayson meet for the first time?

MBR: Caramia and Grayson both grow up together going to the same school. There is no particular mention in the book of how they meet for the first time.

Visitor: What was it that drew you into the story with Satisfaction Guaranteed?

MBR: I found myself really fascinated with the secondary story that was taking place as I read along. The desire that the poor preacher’s daughter feels for the rich man whose childhood had been far from ideal makes for a very interesting premise and I couldn’t get enough of both Regina Baker and Sam Hyatt as I delved deeper into the story.

Visitor: What was it that you liked about Satisfaction Guaranteed?

MBR: I liked the fact that Tori Scott did a pretty decent job of developing her characters and built up the sensual vibe between Grayson and Caramia before plunging them both into the physical aspect of their relationship. It made the connection between them more endearing and realistic to me.

And of course, I absolutely loved the tidbits of Sam and Regina’s shared childhood that were brought into the story. They definitely have a story that is worth telling and am glad that the sequel to this entitled Perfectly Satisfied is going to quench my thirst for their story.

Visitor: Is there anything you would want done differently in Satisfaction Guaranteed?

MBR: Not really. I felt that Tori Scott has done a fairly good job out of telling a well rounded story in such a limited number of pages and it worked for me.

Visitor: Any memorable quotes/scenes from the story you would like to share?

MBR: I liked the bits where Grayson seemed totally in tune with Caramia so much that he knows exactly the stuff she’s made out of and gently draws her into his circle of love that in the end Caramia found as irresistible as I found it to be.

Visitor: Who would you recommend Satisfaction Guaranteed to?

MBR: Satisfaction Guaranteed is great for a quick read in between those emotionally draining novels. A novella that flows smoothly and leaves you begging for more. Recommended for fans of novellas and fans of reunion romances.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

greatread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Grace Under Pressure by Melissa Schroeder

Format: E-bookgraceunderpressure
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Renaldo Morello
Heroine: Grace Beatrice Michael
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 1, 2007
Started On: June 19, 2011
Finished On: June 19, 2011

I am someone who always loves a good romance between a warm, sexy and accident prone heroine with a bit of an aloof and controlled hero who finds his hard earned control shattered all around him. As I read Grace Under Pressure, I couldn’t help but think to myself that I have read this earlier in my pre-review phase. Even if that were the case, I am really glad that I picked this up and enjoyed it, a story that left me wanting more of all the characters that cropped up as it unfolded.

33 year old Grace Michaels lives in the small town of Cannon, Texas and is a history professor at the local college. Accident-prone by nature, her first encounter with the town’s new and sexy as hell Chief of Police Ren Morello happens with her ass up in the air stirring up Ren’s amusement and his libido as well in the process.

Ren is a man who has closed and bolted the door on any sort of relationship with the opposite sex that requires his commitment ever since his divorce from the wife from hell. When Grace comes into the picture, even though his over-active libido begs him to bury himself deep within her, his emotions that are a bit more in control than his libido warn him to run the other way and never look back.

When Grace’s home is ransacked and it is clear that her life is in danger, all protective instincts that Ren harbors deep inside comes out demanding that he keep Grace safe at any cost. Being at such close proximity to a woman whose mere existence befuddles his thinking cells plays havoc with the rigid control that Ren exerts on his baser emotions until it all explodes in his face in the most sinfuly delicious ways possible.

Neatly tying in with the main story is the story of Julia, Grace’s best friend and that of her brother Gabriel that served as an equally interesting romantic interlude in this wickedly good romantic suspense of the erotic variety. Though the scenes of passion are erotic in nature, there is none of the overly kinky stuff taking place in the story. Grace Under Pressure is a hot little addition for your TBR pile if you love a steamy romantic suspense in a small town setting with all the antics that go along with small town life. Loved every single minute of this delectable story and I am definitely going to wade through Ms. Schroeder’s back list and see what I can come up with to keep me entertained in the future.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Samhain

amazingread

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Insatiable by Cari Quinn

Format: E-book
Opens with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Loose Id
Hero: Shawn Griffin
Heroine: Rachel Cooper
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: February 15, 2011
Started On: February 15, 2011
Finished On: February 15, 2011

I was so very psyched to wake up this morning to see Cari’s message on Twitter that she was sending over a copy of Insatiable, her debut novel on LooseID for review. Add to this the fact that this one is of my favorite theme/trope where friends turn into lovers coupled with the fact that today is a state holiday over here, I was in book heaven right from the very first moment I loaded this book onto my Kindle and entered Rachel and Shawn’s world where they both made me practically insatiable to learn everything about them and to reach their happily ever after.

30 year old Shawn Griffin is an esteemed architect and the only child of the Griffins who own an architecture firm known throughout the West Coast. Born and bred in Calvin Bay of California, Shawn is blessed with surfer good looks, feline green eyes and golden hair from his mother and a laser-like focus and intensity from his CEO father. Shawn’s only regret in life is the fact that he had turned down his best friend’s proposal that they become intimate when she had been 16 years old and curiosity had taken a hold of her that in turn had driven her into another man’s arms. Shawn is a man who is biding his time for the right moment to woo the love of his life into his arms forever, a man who has been infatuated with his childhood friend and best buddy since forever and been in love with her for at least half a dozen years.

28 year old Rachel Cooper is the youngest child of the Coopers who publish the magazine for tony fashionistas in the West Coast. A middle school music teacher, Rachel had met Shawn minutes after entering into this world, thanks to the lifelong friendship between their families. Shawn had become her best girlfriend, regardless of the fact he is a guy, long before she had even realized that being his best friend was what she wanted. Apart from the one time when she had been 16 years old and had found feelings of an alien kind inhabiting her body whenever she had been around Shawn, Rachel had never considered opening up her heart to Shawn in the forever kind of manner until the connection and attraction that has always simmered between them comes right up against her, with no holds-barred when Shawn decides to focus his laser-like intensity on winning her affections.

It is when Rachel decides to go on a no-holds-barred sex vacation to New York and rekindle the flames with her high school boyfriend that all hell breaks loose and Shawn unleashes all his pent up longing and desire to claim Rachel as his. Rachel is as skittish as commitment phobic heroines come and add to the equation her tendency to ALWAYS go against what her parents gently prod her and urge her to do, when Shawn and her getting married and having a couple of beautiful babies is what both their families have always hinted at all their life.

Shawn has his work cut out for him when he follows Rachel to New York and competing with the Harley riding ex-boyfriend of Rachel’s seems to require his undivided attention. With Rachel as skittish as a wild horse that needs taming when it comes to facing the intense nature of the feelings that sweep them both away on a  journey of sensual awakening that just lights up the reader’s world in a kaleidescope of colors, Shawn is in it to win and make Rachel face what she has always longed for ever since they had both grown up. When tragedy comes calling, it is then that both Rachel and Shawn needs to decide whether theirs is a love that can weather all storms and come out triumphant in the end.

There are so many, many good things about this delectable novel. First of all, I love the fact that this is by far the longest story by Cari Quinn I have had the fortune of reading and that fact alone is enough to make this girl happy. I love Cari’s style of writing, the sense of humor that she injects into her stories and the fact that her characters all come alive and she makes us feel for them in every way; and to go through all this in a longer novel by her was just in that fact alone awesome! I would say that Cari Quinn has outdone herself with this one and I hope she continues to wow me and take my breathe away with stories that are going to follow this one.

When I always pick up an erotic romance, rarely do I expect it to deliver much apart from good smut to send my heart racing and a big goofy grin on my face due to the happily ever after the romance delivers. However, when you pick up a novel by Cari, you definitely know that you will be getting much, much more than just that. Likewise, Shawn and Rachel are both just lovable characters that I fell in love with right away. Their relationship shown through many a conversation and good memories they have of each other shows that they are friends in the truest sense. And oh my ever loving Lord I tell you, the heat between these two is enough to light up the entire Maldives for centuries to come. I found myself holding in my breath, with my heart racing and thudding to keep up with the action between the sheets and many a wicked position these two found themselves in along the way. All in all, very well done, a story that definitely ends up as a favorite of mine in this theme/trope.

And don’t for the love of God get me started on Shawn Griffin or I wouldn’t be able to control myself. The guy just totally made my day, hell he made my whole month by practically lighting up the pages with his very presence and making me swoon damn near every time he comes up with one romantic plan or the other to woo the woman of his dreams into his life always and forever. Shawn definitely knows what good, hot loving is all about and also knows just how to cherish the woman he loves which makes me long for things better left unsaid. *grin*

There is not a single thing that I would change in this story and am so very ecstatic that Cari picked me as one of the reviewers to receive a copy of this beautiful, heartwarming and very sexy story. If you love a good friends to lovers story with plenty of red, hot loving that can leave you breathless and wanting for more with well developed characters and a story that delivers on all fronts, buy yourself a copy and indulge. I dare you not to want a Shawn Griffin of your own halfway through!

Favorite Quotes

Then Rachel walked into the room, her short geisha girl outfit revealing a mile and a half of leg, and his muscles locked as if he were a wolf that had just scented his mate.
She wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the crowd. Wasn’t the most alluring or even the most striking. But to him, she was the only.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Loose Id

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Playing With Fire by Amy Knupp

Format: E-bookplayingwithfire
Opens with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Texas Firefighters, Book 1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Derek Severson
Heroine: Macey Locke
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 13, 2010
Started On: January 29, 2011
Finished On: January 30, 2011

This is a book that has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for what feels like ages now. I have always been intrigued by storylines where the hero is so blinded with grief for the woman he previously loved, whether it be the woman was his wife, fiance’ or  girlfriend; that he is immune or cannot see the woman who is meant to share his life who is standing right in front of him. These make for heartwarming and at times gut wrenching reads as it is the heroine who has to take the brunt of the sorrow and grief that is whirling inside of the hero with no way out. Playing with Fire is a recommendation I received I think from Amazon forums and my first Amy Knupp proved to be a surprisingly feel good read and I certainly won’t say no to reading another title from hers.

28 year old Derek Severson is grieving the death of his girl friend Julie who died in a fire that Derek was working on. Giving up fire fighting, the profession that he loves, Derek moves to San Amaro Island where his uncle Gus has grown too old to manage his bar The Shell Shack. Pouring drinks day in and day out from mid day till the wee hours of morning is how Derek manages to keep the mind numbing grief at bay and 5 months on Derek still isn’t ready to let go, move on and has no inclination of returning to fire fighting.

Macey Locke, Derek’s childhood friend since Macey had been 5 years old and their mothers had got together to manage a restaurant, has always had feelings for Derek which she has pretty much given up hope of ever being returned. It had been during college that Macey had first realized of her feelings and had in turn turned down all opportunities to date that had come her way. It had been seeing Derek fall crazy in love with Julie that had propelled Macey to do something as drastic as join the Peace Corps and spend two years in Thailand; a time during which Macey had turned from the shy girl she had been into a take-charge woman who is no longer afraid of confrontations.

Macey returns from Thailand and makes her way to San Amaro Island with the sole intention of helping Derek find himself once again so that he may be at peace with what has happened and be able to move on with his life. The Derek she finds at The Shell Shack is a shell of the man he used to be, anti-social, grumpy and tortured looking as hell with desolation surrounding him like an invisible cloak. Mercy has her work cut out for her as she slowly turns Derek’s world upside down in more ways than one, and in the process both Derek and Macey find love of the everlasting kind with each other which is by no means easily achieved with Derek fighting Macey and the feelings he suddenly finds himself with every step of the way.

I liked this Harlequin Super Romance from its beautiful cover to the hunky hero Derek who is desperately in need of some TLC and then some. The Macey who emerges from her time spent at the Peace Corps is an admirable one, one who doesn’t back down even when the going gets tough. I loved Macey and rooted for her and her mission from the very beginning. I liked how the process within which Derek lets go of his grief for Julie unfolds right in front of the readers eyes. It wasn’t an overnight process and I applauded Macey’s guts in facing this challenge head on and coming out the winner in the end. I found myself intrigued with cook that Derek hires for The Shell Shack, a Harley driving, anti-social woman named Andie who seems to me would make for a great story of her own.

The only thing that irked me was the fact that even though Derek had been preparing to leave to go back to Macey, it was in fact Macey who had come back to confront Derek and to let him know that she won’t be scared off that easily from him. Though I liked the ending, I just wish it had been Derek who had had to do the grovelling a little bit more to win over the love of his life.

Recommended for fans of Harlequin Super Romances and those who love a hero wallowing in grief finding love once again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Harlequin

greatread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Pure Temptation by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Format: E-bookpuretemptation
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Blaze #20
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jeremiah MacDougal (Mac)
Heroine: Tess Blakely
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 1, 1999
Started On: November 22, 2010
Finished On: November 25, 2010

Anyone who visits my blog regularly would know that I am a huge fan of romances based on the theme “friends turn into lovers”. When I came across this tittle (I’ve kind of forgotten where exactly this title jumped up at me) I didn’t waste any time in getting myself a copy and plunging into the story. Since free time has been pretty scarce the past few days I managed to give my full attention to this story only today and really loved this Blaze from Ms. Thompson written in the 90’s.

Based in the small town of Copperville in Arizona, 26 year old Tess Blake and Jeremiah MacDougal (Mac) who is two years older than her have known each other and being best friends for the past 23 years of their lives. Tess, surrounded with her hulking 4 big brothers and their overwhelming overprotective natures yearns to experience life in the big cities, a dream that she and Mac had shared when they had been growing up. Now Tess is just a summer away from attaining her dream as her move to New York as a counselor for teenagers in a high school had been finalized. But there is just one teeny, tiny problem that Tess needs taken care of – lose her status as a virgin before the summer is through, easier said than done when her 4 brothers effectively scare off any suitable suitors who might have been up for the job ages back.

Mac, an only child though he dreams of getting away from Copperville, knows that he has a responsibility to his parents who had built their ranch from ground up as a legacy to their only child and son. Though the thought of Tess leaving ties Mac up all on the insides, the bombshell that Tess drops on him, requesting him to aide her in her “summer project” of the year as in find someone to divest her of her virginity practically chokes the very breathe out of Mac.

Mac knows that Tess, once her mind has been made up wouldn’t budge from a task and as soon as the words sex and Tess comes into the same sentence, rolling in satin sheets with her legs wrapped around him is all Mac can think about. And thinking about any other man taking the privilege of getting carnal knowledge of Tess just makes his skin crawl and Mac does the only thing a sane man in his position would do – offer his service as Tess’s hymen-breaker never knowing that all along Tess the woman who had been right under his nose his whole life had been the woman he had been waiting for to settle down with.

Likes:

  1. I loved Mac from the stetson on his head to his delectable toes and everything in between. His tenderness and the way he understands and puts first each and every desire of Tess is what made me fall in love with him. Even with his desire raging out of control for Tess, Mac shows her the sensual side of love as only a man in love can and in the process made my heart go flip-flop every time he came up in the story.
  2. Tess. She makes for a unique combination with her innocence (which doesn’t get on the nerves) and her blatant curiosity when it comes to her own sensuality which awakens around Mac. I loved the fact that she was willing to give up her dream of living it up in the city to just be able to share all her tomorrows with Mac which would be an adventure enough for her.
  3. I loved the subtle difference in the way the story unfolded in this one compared to most of the friends-turn-into-lovers stories that I have read. I loved how Ms. Thompson brought back bits and pieces of Tess and Mac’s shared childhood and their adventures together, lending their jump from friends to lovers much more depth than anything else could have. These insights makes this story one of the very best of this theme and I am so very glad I came across this delectable story by Ms. Thompson.
  4. Though Harlequin stories are pretty short, I liked the small town life descriptions within the story. There was no rush to just get Mac and Tess to do it already but rather the foundation of their relationship with each other and Tess’s family as well tidbits about the town folk and their nosy natures made this quite an interesting piece to read.
  5. I loved how this story made me laugh out loud, several times in fact, whilst reading. From the very beginning when I read Tess’s  notes on how she would divest herself of her virginity, I knew that I was in for a couple of good laughs with this one and I wasn’t disappointed.
  6. And oh yes, I loved the scene where Mac describes the one erotic dream that he had of Tess and himself and I loved how he couldn’t help but squeeze Tess’s hand without his own volition. Lying in his pickup, holding the hand of his best friend and looking up at the stars whilst he related his dream.. *sighs*

Dislikes: Errm.. the cover could use some improvement. Just saying! ^_^

Recommended for:

  1. Lovers of Harlequin Blaze stories.
  2. Those who love stories of the theme where friends turn into lovers or childhood friends turn into lovers.
  3. Fans of Vicki Lewis Thompson. If you haven’t already read this one, grab yourself a copy and indulge! I loved it!

Favorite Quotes

Summer Project: Lose Virginity
Goal one: Find knowledgeable candidate willing to deflower me.
Goal two: Swear the candidate to absolute secrecy.
Goal three: Get it on.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Harlequin

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Short & Sweet Review: Breathe by Donna Alward

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Jace Willow
Heroine: Anna Morelli
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 2, 2010
Started On: November 5, 2010
Finished On: November 5, 2010

Though I have never tried any of Donna Alward’s books, I have had her title Sold to the Highest Bidder in my TBR pile for quite sometime now. And whilst I was browsing through Samhain Publisher’s website last month looking for new releases (not that I don’t have enough books to be read already), I found myself interested in this story and have been looking forward to its release since then. And I have got to say I am quietly impressed on all fronts with this story as it delivers what it promises and more with this quick page turner which I loved from the start to finish.

The Hero: Jace Willow, now owner of the Two Willows Winery grew up dirt poor with two parents who had always struggled to make ends meet and to provide for him the best they could. When Jace’s father is hired by the rich Italian Roberto Morelli to look after his stables, Jace lives vicariously through his children Alex and Anna Morelli who live a life of luxury that Jace can only dream about. Roberto had always made Jace feel that he would never be good enough and that resentment alone was enough for Jace to equal happiness with being successful and being able to provide for his family all the little as well as extravagant luxuries in life. Alex had been his best friend whilst Anna had been close as well but she had always meant something more to Jace until the summer that everything changes between them.

The Heroine: Anna Morelli had grown up feeling cossetted and stifled with expectations from her rigid and controlling father all her life. Anna’s mother had walked out on them when she had been quite young and it had been Alex who had being her savior back then. But when Jace had come along, Anna’s world had revolved around Jace and a friendship that was frowned upon by her father had bloomed into something much more the summer when Anna had barely turned 18. But when Jace leaves her to pursue his dreams of getting rich and making a name for himself, Anna does the one thing that she regrets more than anything else in her life. She ups and marries her father approved Stefano for whom she bears her two adorable children Matteo and Aurelia.

Storyline: When Stefano dies leaving Anna a widow with two children in his wake, the role of the grieving widow that she is forced to play when grief is the furthest thing from what she is feeling makes Anna run towards the one man she knows that she can count on. Jace is taken aback to find his beautiful Anna, the one woman whom Jace would lay down his life for at his winery with her two children looking for a place to regroup from all that had happened to Anna till now. Resentments that Jace had long since thought buried come to the surface making a situation fraught with tension that much harder to deal with making this story one of the most angst filled reads I have read of late – a fact which I loved.

The First Encounter: There is no mention of how or what happened when Anna and Jace had first met each other. But rather there are flashbacks and memories of a past that had built a strong and everlasting bond between two people who are definitely two halves of one soul.

Time period: This story has a contemporary setting and takes place in Canada.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: Though the sexual zing between Anna and Jace doesn’t take center stage in the story, nevertheless its subtlety makes the read one worth sinking into. With flashbacks into a time when the only thing that had mattered to both Jace and Anna had been each other, the awareness between Anna and Jace never ceases all throughout the story.

The turning point: Though at first Jace resents having his life intruded upon by the love of his life and her two children when Jace had been one who was adamant on the fact that he doesn’t want children, the move into his house and the close proximity between all of them proves to be Jace’s undoing. The deep hurt, resentment and anger that Jace had stored up all through the years reach its culmination and the healing process begins as a result of which Jace and Anna get a chance to make their love work, a second time round.

Ending: Jace and Anna get their happily ever after and a beautifully done epilogue had me satisfied on all ends by the time the story was through.

Likes: I loved all the characters within the story. Jace who had been hurt so bad when Anna had married another, who still opens up his door for the woman he loves more than anything in his life, who has a twisted vision of what is actually important in life was one of the best things about this story. Anna too drew me into her character, made me sympathize with what she had gone through and I loved her for the fact that she reaches out to Jace whose wounds are festering on the inside and had enough courage to face whatever it was that kept them from communicating truthfully with each other. And I just adored both Matteo and Aurelia who just invaded right into my heart right from the very first moment. The title is so very appropriate for the story such that there was so much emotion packed into it that I forgot to breathe at times or tended to hold my breathe in as two people who are definitely made for one another tried in their own ways to show the other that nothing means more to them than making the other happy.

Dislikes: None.

Recommended for: Those who love a romance that has so much emotion packed into it that you cannot help but hold your breathe in hoping against hope that the hero and heroine gets their happily ever after – and soon before you pass out!

Favorite Quotes

“Matteo, you’re in charge of helping your sister.” Jace issued the instruction while Anna stared in surprise. He handed them a plate with crackers, tiny pieces of cheese, and baby-sized pieces of proscuitto. He fixed a similar plate for Anna, only in adult proportions, and then one for himself.
It was simple. It was perfect.
A flurry behind them announced a family of loons taking off from the river. Matteo pointed at them with a finger and Aurelia’s mouth made an “O” in response. Jace looked at Anna and smiled.
And damn near broke her heart.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Samhain

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: All or Nothing by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-bookallornothing
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Lonnigans, Book 2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Lucas Lonnigan
Heroine: Belinda Lynn Riggs
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 29, 2010
Started On: October 23, 2010
Finished On: October 24, 2010

When The Lonnigans series first caught my roving eye, it was this book that I knew would deliver everything that I crave for as a romance reader. Lucas Lonnigan definitely took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions that refused to let go long after I finished his story. Even when I was reading All of You (the 1st book in this series) before this, it was the glimpses of Lucas that held my attention and deep down inside I just knew that his smoldering intensity would demand nothing less than the ultimate surrender of all my emotions – and he certainly did that and more.

Older than Kyle by just ten minutes, Lucas is perceived as the reserved and quiet one compared to his happy-go-lucky twin. Having made a career for himself analyzing numbers, no one would have believed that beneath the brooding facade that he presents to the world lies a heart that had jumped right out on its own and gone ahead and fallen for his neighbor and childhood friend Belinda Lynn Riggs when he had just been six years old.

Belinda is one of the most complex heroines I have come across in the hundreds of romances that I have managed to read till now. She is prickly as a hedgehog, has deep rooted issues about commitment, trust and love as a result of a turbulent childhood spent with parents who had had a violent sort of love for one another that had taken its toll on the family of seven, more so on Belinda who is the eldest and who took care of the younger ones. When the Briggs move in next door to the Lonnigan’s suburban home, in Lucas Belinda finds someone who understands her and someone who really sees who she is beneath the persona she presents to the rest of the world.

Their friendship certainly takes on a new meaning when at the age of 18, on prom night, an innocent touch erupts into a passion that refuses to be denied, a passion that ties Lucas and Belinda forever struggling to come to terms with a love so fierce that it refuses to be tamped down and ignored, and accept the fact that they are made for one another. However, Belinda’s past always keeps on haunting any attempts on Lucas’s part to show her how good that they can be together until finally Belinda drives Lucas away with her stubbornness that prevents her from letting go of the past.

This story is so very good that I didn’t want to put it down regardless of the fact that I had to wake up early morning for work today. At work, I was antsy the whole day, missing Lucas and his smoldering sensuality that kept the pages turning until my eyes couldn’t focus any longer from the need to slumber. There were times that I really wanted to hate Belinda for what she puts Lucas through, but she made up for all of it so beautifully in the end. If I hadn’t already been half in love with Lucas before, the way he calls Belinda Belle would have sealed the deal for me.

I absolutely loved  the epilogue which was the one thing that was missing from book 1 in this series. However Ms. Tenorio has redeemed herself in my eyes by providing a most fitting and beautiful epilogue which couldn’t have made me anymore happier! A great two book series, each one of which can be read as a standalone title without much hassle is highly recommended for those who love their romances with a touch of humor and a high dose of sensuality that goes a long way in making the story a memorable one.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Samhain

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Place to Call Home by Deborah Smith

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Hero: Roan Sullivan
Heroine: Claire Maloney
Sensuality: 1
Date of Publication: May 4, 1998
Started On: June 8, 2010
Finished On: June 11, 2010

Bearing a strong resemblance to the storyline of Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred, this is a story that captures the essence of the ties of a loving family, how tragic mistakes can unravel even the most close knit of families and how love triumphs over in the end.

The first half of the book focuses on the childhood of Roan Sullivan, the boy from the wrong side of the town with the drunk whoring father and Claire Maloney, the girl who has got everything. Claire comes from a large family, the richest in town. Though Claire and Roan couldn’t be more further apart from one another in social standing, Claire takes an uncanny liking towards the dirty boy with the grey eyes who stands steadfast through all the ribbing and torture dished out by his father as well as other boys in the town.

The author cleverly spins the tale as told by Claire, as to how she falls in love with Roan at the tender age of 10 or so, a love that captures the reader’s heart right from the very beginning. Roan doesn’t trust anyone apart from Claire and one mishap after another leads to Roan living with the Maloneys.

However, a tragic incident involving Roan’s father and Claire which ultimately ends up in Roan killing his father, makes Claire’s parents decide to send Roan off to a church home for a month and Roan disappears thus destroying an essential part of Claire which strains the ties she has with her family.

Claire never stops searching for Roan all throughout the twenty years that they spend apart. Meanwhile Roan too has been keeping tabs on Claire and the Maloneys and a tragic accident involving Claire finally propels him to return to Claire while she recuperates at home.

Now a rich and successful man, Roan has never forgotten how quickly hope can be extinguished by those for whom you care for, and though he is not bitter about the Maloney’s decision to send him away, Roan has turned into a man who has locked away his emotions, except for those that he feels towards Claire.

With secrets of his own to keep, Roan and Claire start off 20 years later to revel in the love they have had for one another, a love that can only last once the previous hurts have been healed. An engrossing tale, this is one story even non-romance readers ought to try, because this is definitely a book of the can’t-put-down variety.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Nick Anderson
Heroine: Alix French
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: May 12, 2005
Started On: April 24, 2010
Finished On: April 25, 2010

This is one of the best love stories I have come across. Though narrated in the first person which I dislike mostly, Ms. Katherine has done a wonderful job in creating characters that will stay with you for a long time once you are done with the story.

Once I started reading Alix and Nick’s story I couldn’t for the life of me put it down till I really had to go to sleep since I had work the next morning. I am glad now that I took the recommendation to heed and read this book which I would recommend for even non-romance readers to take a look at. Yes, its worth every second you spend reading the book!

Alix comes from old wealth and abundance of family love. Whilst her father was non-existent when Alix was growing up, she had never felt the lack of fatherly love since her grandpa known as Judge fulfilled that role quite adequately. Been on the receiving end of motherly love from her mother and two sisters who never got married and still lived with their father (Judge) this is as good as family life gets. Nick comes from the wrong side of town. With a drunken father who beats the crap out of him whenever he can, Nick is a defiant little boy of ten when eight year old Alix takes into her head to rescue him.

From then on these two are inseparable bound by ties that go beyond normal friendship. However Nick’s steadfast protection of Lindsay, a girl from the wrong side of town as well keeps these two from fulfilling the destiny of belonging to one another. Now fifteen years later, Alix is is finalizing her divorce from Hugh whom she married once Nick left town with a murder charge on his back and is a woman with a tough wall around her heart after her and Nick’s daughter Katie died from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

All of a sudden Nick is back in town with his son Daniel who looks so much like Katie that the armor that Alix has put up all these years starts to fall apart one by one. However the truth of what actually took place that fateful night 15 years back is what would make or break these two people who are destined to be together if they can both forgive, heal and move on.

Wonderfully moving story that clutches at your heart. Loved it from the beginning till end!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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